SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Singapore’s banks cite their ability to successfully implement the
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Notice 610 as their main concern
for next year. More than half of the banks surveyed identify the
regulatory change as their top single concern for the year ahead
according to a new survey by Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk & Reporting
business. The survey asked more than 50 compliance, risk, finance and IT
professionals at more than 25 banks in Singapore for their views on key
challenges they face.

The scope of new proposals in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s
overhaul of the MAS 610 reporting regime for banks has taken many in the
sector by surprise. The core set of returns that banks file to the
Monetary Authority of Singapore are being revised to require information
at a far more granular level beginning next year. In fact, the number of
data elements that firms have to report will rise from about 4,000 to
approximately 300,000.

With this in mind more than a quarter (27%) of those surveyed pointed to
having concerns around data analysis, gap identification and mapping,
and data quality and remediation to meet the MAS 610 requirements, and
seventeen percent (17%) stated their top concern for the next year was
simply keeping up with the pace of regulatory change.

When asked what operating models they were considering for implementing
new MAS 610 requirements, 82% of respondents said their preferred
operating method was still traditional on-premise deployment.

The highest scoring consideration for choosing a technology solution was
its data management capabilities, mirroring the 27% of respondents who
ranked data analysis and quality their top concern for the next year.
Unsurprisingly, price was the second highest scoring consideration.
Content and reporting logic was the third highest scoring consideration.
These responses are especially interesting in light of the concern for
simply keeping up with the pace of change, a challenge where content and
reporting logic can undoubtedly help.

“As this survey shows, regulatory reporting evidently boils down to two
key challenges. Firstly, banks need to consider data management:
obtaining the correct data in the required state for onward reporting,”
said Wouter Delbaere, Director of Regulatory Reporting, APAC, for
Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk & Reporting business. “Subject matter
expertise is the second concern: a deep understanding of MAS reporting
requirements is vital. As banks are looking to leverage innovative
operating models such as managed services, it is absolutely critical to
not lose sight of these two key inherent regulatory reporting
challenges.”